Video> Frank Gehry on his eccentric Guggenheim Abu Dhabi museum

Gehry and his Guggenheim Abu Dhabi model. (Screengrab via the New York Times)

Up-and-coming architect Frank Gehry recently sat down with the New York Timesto discuss his Guggenheim museum under construction on Saadiyat Island near Abu Dhabi. The eccentric or idiosyncratic or whimsical structure totals 450,000 square feet, making it 12 times larger than the Guggenheim in New York. The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is defined by multiple cones that Gehry says were influenced by teepees because of how they remove hot air. The design is also supposed to evoke the domes of mosques around the Middle East. Although that’s a bit harder to discern.

On Saadiyat Island, Gehry’s museum will be joined by other lavish projects from Zaha Hadid, Rafael Viñoly, Tadao Ando, and Jean Nouvel. These architects, and their clients, have faced scrutiny for the notoriously bad labor conditions in the region. But back in September, Gehry addressed these concerns in an interview with Architectural Record. In a statement, the architect’s firm said, “Gehry Partners has been engaged in a substantial and on-going dialogue over many years now that has involved government, the construction industry, architects, project, sponsors and NGOs.” Record added, “Gehry may be the first prominent architect to take steps towards labor reform on Saadiyat Island.”

If you like, give the video a look, but be warned there’s a lot of self congratulations and opining on world affairs.